Feist, Drake, Dan Mangan, Braids, Fucked Up Grab Juno Noms

A number of Canadian musicians woke up today (February 7) to news that they had been nominated in this year's Juno Awards. A press conference held in Toronto found the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) delivering the details on the nods, which include multiple first-time nominees like Braids, Dan Mangan and Diamond Rings.

The conference highlighted that 99 first-time nominees were selected for this year's Juno festivities, which run March 26 to April 1 in Ottawa. William Shatner will host the 2012 Juno Awards broadcast from the capital's Scotiabank Place on April 1.

The New Group of the Year category toasts the aforementioned Braids, as well as Hey Rosetta!, Mother Mother, the Rural Alberta Advantage and Rolling Stone cover stars the Sheepdogs. As for the fresh-faced solo acts, the New Artist of the Year prize highlights Mangan, Diamond Rings, Alyssa Reid, JRDN and Lindi Ortega.

Mangan's Oh Fortune received multiple nominations, though, with the BC-bred artist's latest also nabbing him noms for Songwriter of the Year, Video of the Year ("Rows of Houses") and Alternative Album of the Year.

Also nominated for Alternative Album of the Year were Fucked Up (David Comes to Life), Timber Timbre (Creep On Creepin' On), Destroyer (Kaputt) and, once again, Braids (Native Speaker).

Canuck vets also got their just due, with Drake's Take Care raking in four nominations and Feist bringing four as well (for her Metals LP and the Feist: Look at What the Light Did Now DVD). Drizzy will be in contention for Juno Fan Choice, Album of the Year and Rap Recording of the Year, but will square off against Feist, as well as Michael Buble, deadmau5, and City and Colour, for Artist of the Year.

Four seems to be the magic number, as City and Colour, Hedley and Nickelback also earned the same amount of nods.

As previously reported, this year marks the inclusion of the new Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year category. Up for the prize in its inaugural year are Anvil, Fuck the Facts, Devin Townsend Project, KEN Mode and Cauldron.

You can check the full list of nominees here at the Juno site, but other notable noms include Austra (Electronic Album of the Year), the Deep Dark Woods (Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Group), Duck Sauce (Dance Recording of the Year), Tim Hecker (Electronic Album of the Year), D-Sisive (Rap Recording of the Year), Malajube (Francophone Album of the Year), Junior Boys (Electronic Album of the Year), Coeur de Pirate (Francophone Album of the Year), Colin Stetson (Instrumental Album of the Year) and Sloan (Rock Album of the Year).

Performers at the ceremony will continue to be added to the program in the coming weeks, but artists lined up thus far include Feist, City and Colour, deadmau5, Blue Rodeo, Hedley and Nickelback.